Statutory Charges

(13) A requirement that the private contractor cooperate with the correctional institution inspection committee in the committee’s performance of its duties under section 103.73 of the Revised Code and provide the committee, its subcommittees, and its staff members, in performing those duties, with access to the correctional facility as described in that section;

There is hereby created a correctional institution inspection committee as a subcommittee of the legislative service commission. The committee shall consist of eight persons, four of whom shall be members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate, not more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party, and four of whom shall be members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, not more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party. Initial appointments to the committee shall be made within fifteen days after the effective date of this section and in the manner prescribed in this section. Thereafter, appointments to the committee shall be made within fifteen days after the commencement of the first regular session of the general assembly and in the manner prescribed in this section. A vacancy on the committee shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. members of the committee shall serve on the committee until the appointments are made in the first regular session of the following general assembly, unless they cease to be members of the general assembly. The committee, subject to the oversight and direction of the legislative service commission, shall direct the work of the director and staff of the committee.

The correctional institution inspection committee, by a vote of at least five members, shall select from its membership a chairman, vice-chairman, and a secretary. The members of the committee shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

(A) The correctional institution inspection committee shall do all of the following:

(1) Subject to division (C) of this section, establish and maintain a continuing program of inspection of each state correctional institution used for the custody, control, training, and rehabilitation of persons convicted of crime and of each private correctional facility. Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee may inspect any local correctional institution used for the same purposes. Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee, and each member of the committee, for the purpose of making an inspection pursuant to this section, shall have access to any state or local correctional institution, to any private correctional facility, or to any part of the institution or facility and shall not be required to give advance notice of, or to make prior arrangements before conducting, an inspection.

(2) Evaluate and assist in the development of programs to improve the condition or operation of correctional institutions;

(3) Prepare a report for submission to the succeeding general assembly of the findings the committee makes in its inspections and of any programs that have been proposed or developed to improve the condition or operation of the correctional institutions in the state. The report shall contain a separate evaluation of the inmate grievance procedure at each state correctional institution. The committee shall submit the report to the succeeding general assembly within fifteen days after commencement of that general assembly’s first regular session.

(B) Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee shall make an inspection of each state correctional institution each biennium and of each private correctional facility each biennium. The inspection shall include attendance at one general meal period and one rehabilitative or educational program.

(C) An inspection of a state correctional institution, a private correctional facility, or a local correctional institution under division (A) or (B) of this section or under section 103.74 of the Revised Code, or an inspection under section 103.76 of the Revised Code, is subject to and shall be conducted in accordance with all of the following:

(1) The inspection shall not be conducted unless the chairperson of the committee grants prior approval for the inspection.

(2) The inspection shall be conducted by at least one staff member of the committee and may include one or more of the members appointed to the committee.

(3) Unless the chairperson of the committee determines that the inspection must be conducted outside of normal business hours for any reason, including emergency circumstances or a justifiable cause that perpetuates the mission of the committee, and the chairperson specifies in the grant of prior approval for the inspection that the chairperson has so determined, the inspection shall be conducted only during normal business hours. If the chairperson determines that the inspection must be conducted outside of normal business hours and the chairperson specifies in the grant of prior approval for the inspection that the chairperson has so determined, the inspection may be conducted outside of normal business hours.

(D) As used in this section:

(1) “Local public entity,” “out-of-state prisoner,” and “private contractor” have the same meanings as in section 9.07 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Private correctional facility” means a correctional facility in this state that houses out-ofstate prisoners and that is operated by a private contractor under a contract with a local public entity pursuant to section 9.07 of the Revised Code.

The correctional institution inspection committee may employ a director and any other nonlegal staff, who shall be in the unclassified service of the state, that are necessary for the committee to carry out its duties and may contract for the services of whatever nonlegal technical advisors are necessary for the committee to carry out its duties. The attorney general shall act as legal counsel to the committee.

The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the legislative service commission shall fix the compensation of the director. The director, with the approval of the director of the legislative service commission, shall fix the compensation of other staff of the committee in accordance with a salary schedule established by the director of the legislative service commission. Contracts for the services of necessary technical advisors shall be approved by the director of the legislative service commission.

The general assembly shall biennially appropriate to the correctional institution inspection committee an amount sufficient to enable the committee to perform its duties. Salaries and expenses incurred by the committee shall be paid from that appropriation upon vouchers approved by the chairperson of the committee.

Subject to division (C) of section 103.73 of the Revised Code, the correctional institution inspection committee, and each member of the committee, for the purpose of making inspections of youth services facilities shall have access to any youth services facility, or to any part of that facility and shall not be required to give advance notice of, or to make prior arrangements before conducting, an inspection.

Subject to division (C) of section 103.73 of the Revised Code, the correctional institution inspection committee, and each member of the committee, for the purpose of making inspections of youth services facilities shall have access to any youth services facility, or to any part of that facility and shall not be required to give advance notice of, or to make prior arrangements before conducting, an inspection.

If the correctional institution inspection committee conducts inspections of youth services facilities during a biennium, the committee shall prepare a report for submission to the succeeding general assembly of the findings the committee makes in its inspections and of any programs that have been proposed or developed to improve the condition or operation of youth services facilities. The committee shall submit the report to the succeeding general assembly within fifteen days after commencement of that general assembly’s first regular session.

There is hereby created the criminal sentencing advisory committee. The committee shall be comprised of the chairperson of the parole board, the director of the office of the correctional institution inspection committee, a juvenile detention facility operator, a provider of juvenile probation or community control services, a provider of juvenile parole or aftercare services, a superintendent of a state institution operated by the department of youth services, a community-based juvenile services provider, a person who is a member of a youth advocacy organization, a victim of a violation of Title XXIX [29] of the Revised Code that was committed by a juvenile offender, a representative of community corrections programming appointed by the governor, and any other members appointed by the chairperson of the state criminal sentencing commission upon the advice of the commission. The committee shall serve as an advisory body to the state criminal sentencing commission and to the commission’s standing juvenile committee.

The members of the committee shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be reimbursed for the member’s actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the member’s official duties.

(A) Whenever the director of rehabilitation and correction determines that the total population of the state correctional institutions for males and females, the total population of the state correctional institutions for males, or the total population of the state correctional institutions for females exceeds the capacity of those institutions and that an overcrowding emergency exists, the director shall notify the correctional institution inspection committee of the emergency and provide the committee with information in support of the director’s determination. The director shall not notify the committee that an overcrowding emergency exists unless the director determines that no other reasonable method is available to resolve the overcrowding emergency.

(B) On receipt of the notice given pursuant to division (A) of this section, the correctional institution inspection committee promptly shall review the determination of the director of rehabilitation and correction. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code or the Administrative Code that governs the lengths of criminal sentences, sets forth the time within which a prisoner is eligible for parole or within which a prisoner may apply for release, or regulates the procedure for granting parole or release to prisoners confined in state correctional institutions, the committee may recommend to the governor that the prison terms of eligible male, female, or all prisoners, as determined under division (E) of this section, be reduced by thirty, sixty, or ninety days, in the manner prescribed in that division.

(C) If the correctional institution inspection committee disagrees with the determination of the director of rehabilitation and correction that an overcrowding emergency exists, if the committee finds that an overcrowding emergency exists but does not make a recommendation pursuant to division (B) of this section, or if the committee does not make a finding or a recommendation pursuant to that division within thirty days of receipt of the notice given pursuant to division (A) of this section, the director may recommend to the governor that the action set forth in division (B) of this section be taken.

(D) Upon receipt of a recommendation from the correctional institution inspection committee or the director of rehabilitation and correction made pursuant to this section, the governor may declare in writing that an overcrowding emergency exists in all of the institutions within the control of the department in which men are confined, in which women are confined, or both. The declaration shall state that the adult parole authority shall take the action set forth in division (B) of this section. After the governor makes the declaration, the director shall file a copy of it with the secretary of state, and the copy is a public record. The department may begin to implement the declaration of the governor made pursuant to this section on the date that it is filed with the secretary of state. The department shall begin to implement the declaration within thirty days after the date of filing. The declaration shall be implemented in accordance with division (E) of this section.

(E)(1) No reduction of sentence pursuant to division (B) of this section shall be granted to any of the following:

(a) A person who is serving a term of imprisonment for aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or any other offense punishable by life imprisonment or by an indefinite term of a specified number of years to life, or for conspiracy in, complicity in, or attempt to commit any of those offenses;

(b) A person who is serving a term of imprisonment for any felony other than carrying a concealed weapon that was committed while the person had a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, on or about the offender’s person or under the offender’s control;

(c) A person who is serving a term of imprisonment for a violation of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code;

(d) A person who is serving a term of imprisonment for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity;

(e) A person who is serving a prison term or term of life imprisonment without parole imposed pursuant to section 2971.03 of the Revised Code;

(f) A person who was denied parole or release pursuant to section 2929.20 of the Revised Code during the term of imprisonment the person currently is serving.

(2) A declaration of the governor that requires the adult parole authority to take the action set forth in division (B) of this section shall be implemented only by reducing the prison terms of prisoners who are not in any of the categories set forth in division (E)(1) of this section, and only by granting reductions of prison terms in the following order:

(a) Under any such declaration, prison terms initially shall be reduced only for persons who are not in any of the categories set forth in division (E)(1) of this section and who are not serving a term of imprisonment for any of the following offenses:

(i) An offense of violence that is a felony of the first, second, or third degree or that, under the law in existence prior to the effective date of this amendment, was an aggravated felony of the first, second, or third degree or a felony of the first or second degree;

(ii) An offense set forth in Chapter 2925. of the Revised Code that is a felony of the first or second degree.

(b) If every person serving a term of imprisonment at the time of the implementation of any such declaration who is in the class of persons eligible for the initial reduction of prison terms, as described in division (E)(2)(a) of this section, has received a total of ninety days of term reduction for each three years of imprisonment actually served, then prison terms may be reduced for all other persons serving a term of imprisonment at that time who are not in any of the categories set forth in division (E)(1) of this section.

(F) An offender who is released from a state correctional institution pursuant to this section is subject to post-release control sanctions imposed by the adult parole authority as if the offender was a prisoner described in division (B) of section 2967.28 of the Revised Code who was being released from imprisonment.

(G) If more than one overcrowding emergency is declared while a prisoner is serving a prison term, the total term reduction for that prisoner as the result of multiple declarations shall not exceed ninety days for each three years of imprisonment actually served.

(A)(1) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall permit representatives of all nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that are registered with the department to enter institutions under the control of the department for the purpose of providing reentry services to inmates. Reentry services may include, but are not limited to, counseling, housing, job-placement, and money-management assistance.

(2) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the screening and registration of nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that apply to provide reentry services in institutions under the department’s control.

(B)(1) The department shall post a department telephone number on the department’s official internet web site that nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that wish to provide reentry services to inmates may call to obtain information. The internet web site also shall list all of the nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that are registered with the department under this section.

(2) The department shall actively recruit nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations to provide reentry services in institutions under the department’s control. The department shall recruit nonprofit organizations from all faiths and beliefs.

(C) Annually, the department shall issue a written report on the department’s progress in implementing the recommendations of the correctional faith-based initiatives task force. The department shall provide a copy of the written report to each member of the correctional institution inspection committee created under section 103.71 of the Revised Code.

(D) The department shall not endorse or sponsor any faith-based reentry program or endorse any specific religious message. The department may not require an inmate to participate in a faith-based program.

(A)(1) The department of youth services shall permit representatives of all nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that are registered with the department to enter institutions that are under the department’s control and management for the purpose of providing reentry services to delinquent children in the department’s custody. Reentry services may include, but are not limited to, counseling, housing, job-placement, and money-management assistance.

(2) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the screening and registration of nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that apply to provide reentry services to delinquent children in institutions under the department’s control and management.

(B)(1) The department shall post a department telephone number on the department’s official internet web site that nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that wish to provide reentry services to delinquent children may call to obtain information. The internet web site also shall list all of the faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations that are registered with the department under this section.

(2) The department shall actively recruit nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations to provide reentry services in institutions under the department’s control and management. The department shall recruit nonprofit organizations from all faiths and beliefs.

(C) Annually, the department shall issue a written report on the department’s progress in implementing the recommendations of the correctional faith-based initiatives task force. The department shall provide a copy of the written report to each member of the correctional institution inspection committee created under section 103.71 of the Revised Code.

(D) The department shall not endorse or sponsor any faith-based reentry program or endorse any specific religious message. The department may not require any child in its custody to participate in a faith-based program.

(A) There is hereby created the advisory council of directors for prison labor consisting of five appointed members and the director of the office of the correctional institution inspection committee, who shall serve as an ex officio member. Each member shall have experience in labor relations, marketing, business management, or business. The members shall be appointed by the governor. Within thirty days after April 9, 1981, the governor shall make the initial appointments to the council of directors. Of the initial appointments made to the council of directors, two shall be for a term ending one year after April 9, 1981, two shall be for a term ending two years after that date, and one shall be for a term ending three years after that date. After the expiration of the initial terms, the terms of office for the members shall be for three years, each term ending on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Any vacancy on the advisory council shall be filled by the governor. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the predecessor’s term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member’s term until a successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(B) Each member of the advisory council, while engaged in the performance of the business of the advisory council, shall be reimbursed for expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties.

(C) The advisory council shall meet within two weeks after the initial members have been appointed at a time and place determined by the governor. At its first meeting, the advisory council shall elect a chairperson and shall adopt rules for its procedures. The advisory council shall elect a new chairperson annually at its January meeting. The advisory council shall meet at least once every January and at least once every two months thereafter, and otherwise shall meet at the call of the chairperson or upon the written request of at least a quorum of the members. Three of the members constitutes a quorum, and no action shall be taken without the concurrence of a quorum of the members.

(D) The advisory council shall advise and assist the department of rehabilitation and correction when the department adopts rules pursuant to division (B) of section 5145.03 of the Revised Code, establishes prices for goods, products, services, or labor produced or supplied by prisoners, and otherwise establishes and administers the program for employment of prisoners established by the department pursuant to division (A) of section 5145.16 of the Revised Code. The department shall consider the advice and assistance of the advisory council that is provided pursuant to this section, and shall cooperate with the advisory council. The advisory council may recommend to the general assembly any further legislation that it believes is necessary to implement the department’s program of employment of prisoners.

Any person who is required to report abuse or neglect of a child under eighteen years of age that is reasonably suspected or believed to have occurred or the threat of which is reasonably suspected or believed to exist pursuant to division (A) of section 2151.421 of the Revised Code, any person who is permitted to report or cause a report to be made of reasonably suspected abuse or neglect of a child under eighteen years of age pursuant to division (B) of that section, any person who is required to report suspected abuse or neglect of a person with mental retardation or a developmental disability pursuant to division (C) of section 5123.61 of the Revised Code, and any person who is permitted to report suspected abuse or neglect of a person with mental retardation or a developmental disability pursuant to division (F) of that section and who makes or causes the report to be made, shall direct that report to the state highway patrol if the child or the person with mental retardation or a developmental disability is an inmate in the custody of a state correctional institution. If the state highway patrol determines after receipt of the report that it is probable that abuse or neglect of the inmate occurred, the patrol shall report its findings to the department of rehabilitation and correction, to the court that sentenced the inmate for the offense for which the inmate is in the custody of the department, and to the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the correctional institution inspection committee established by section 103.71 of the Revised Code.

(D) At least once every six months, the department shall provide to the correctional institution inspection committee a copy of the estimates of state correctional institution populations obtained through use of the system described in division (C) of this section and a description of the assumptions regarding sentencing laws and trends, sentence durations, parole rates, crime rates, and other relevant data that were made by the department to obtain the estimates. Additionally, a copy of the estimates and a description of the assumptions made to obtain them shall be provided, upon reasonable request, to other legislative staff, including the staff of the legislative service commission , to the office of budget and management, and to the division of criminal justice services in the department of public safety.

(E) The correctional institution inspection committee shall appoint an advisory committee to review the operation of the system for estimating future state correctional institution populations that is used by the department in the preparation of population cost impact statements pursuant to this section and to join with the department in its reviews and updating of the data used in the system under division (C) of this section. The advisory committee shall be comprised of at least one prosecuting attorney, at least one common pleas court judge, at least one public defender, at least one person who is a member or staff employee of the committee, and at least one representative of the division of criminal justice services in the department of public safety.